I’m a cheap sonofabitch. I’d rather do it myself than pay someone else . . . as long is it isn’t too much work. So when I put together a workbench—that was later appropriated to hold my reloading operation—-a few 2 x 6s, some drywall screws and an hour later I was in bidness. But when my PowerBall ticket hits and I’m fitting out my stylish but tastefully appointed gun room, I’ll be placing an order with American Work Bench for one of their Constitution model reloading benches. I’m leaning toward a 24 x 60 unit but I’ll have to assess the room’s feng shui first to be sure. And since I’ll likely be finishing the room in warm earth tones, I’m thinking Sedona Red will complement the leather club chairs nicely. What color will work for your decorating motif? [h/t Tyler Kee]
Those AWB are great yet I have a friend who could (would?) pound it together for half the price. Nice work on your own bench Dan. If the economy collapses after the election then you could always start a side business making good budget re-loading benches. Maybe include an entire re-loading kit with it and a ‘how-to’ manual. You can call the company The Dan Zimmerman Patriot Workbench.
What color will work for your decorating motif?
Always been partial to stone, wood and “earth tones”.
$700? For six 4 x 4’s holding up a bench top with a couple shelves? I think I’ll stick with my 2 bucks worth of repurposed lumber, thanks.
Wow, that’s nice looking.
Does it come in camo?
How about hiding the whole operation in an old piano…
http://www.instructables.com/id/Free-Stealth-Apartment-Workbench/
That piano is actually really cool.
“Why does your piano smell like WD-40 and Hoppes #9?”
That’s pretty, but at $774 (plus $129 freight) for the 24×60 version you mentioned… um, no. That one picture you linked is enough for me to build it myself.
Sadly, it’s all a moot point because I live in an apartment and have no room for it.
Your workbench looks very respectable, Dan. It looks sturdy, and to my eye has “just enough” room. My experience with big workbenches (my dad has one he built before I was born, about 7 feet long, I rebuilt it for him about 6 years ago because the 30 year old particleboard top and shelf were falling apart) is that when you have more than “just enough” room, the extra area like the “far end” starts becoming a place to stack/store/keep stuff, even if you didn’t intend it that way.
my gun working bench is an old yard sale table. we tend to overthink accesseries for the man cave.
Around $800 for something that I’d then be worried about damaging?
It reminds me of a chair that we had when I was a child. The thing was covered in grey paint. We’d used it for years to reach things on high shelves, to paint the ceiling, and so forth. Then my grandmother stripped off the top layers and found a 1920s Polish antique underneath. Now the damned thing sits in my parents’ living room, entirely unused.
Just built my own with a 30″x 72″ butcher block top from drillspot for around $450. Its not as pretty but I’d be willing to bet its a hell of a lot stronger.
It was a good excuse to get more tools too.
That is a seriously nice bench, but I feel a man should make his own, and make it so the top is modularity replaceable.
I own one. Had mine engraved with a quote from Ben Franklin. Sure they are pricey, but it is a quality piece of equipment, and miles better than anything I could make at home, even if I had the tools to do so.
Seeing AWB and Constitution next to each other did give me a moment of pause, since to my way of thinking, there was nothing constitutional about the Assault Weapons Ban.
Dan,
The workbench that you built looks great. How did you do it? Did you build it from a plan? I am looking to build one in the next few months and would appreciate any info you care to share.
Maybe you could even write an article on building a workbench.
Thank you
Over the years with moving and such, I have built several workbenches, some from “recycled” wood, and a couple from newly purchased lumber. The last one I built is rock solid, but sure taint purty like the AWB benches. I have to agree, a post lottery purchase for sure and I’d be in the market for about 3 of ’em, one for reloading, and 2 for the workshop.
Nice bench, Dan. If you are looking for cheap but sturdy reloading bench, I recently used a $50 thrift store “bureaucrat desk” (grey steel with a linoleum-type top), screwed a piece of 1″ plywood to the top (2′ wide by about 5′ long), and added a set of 4’x4′ shelves to the back, made from 1x6s with plywood backing, and bolted to the wall. The 1″ plywood was a 2’x8′ piece left over from a workbench I made for the garage. Probably around $200 and 20 hours invested, and the desk came with drawers to store reloading stuff. Not pretty, but stout. Scrounging works.
The reloading bench you can afford today is a lot better than the one that you might build or buy in a few years.
IdahoPete: That actually sounds pretty nice. I know your plywood top was “free,” and if it’s free it’s for me. That said, if I was having to buy something new to top it with, I’d use 3/4″ MDF instead of plywood, and polyurethane the bejesus out of it. When I redid my dad’s workbench, that’s what I used, with 6 coats of satin polyurethane top and bottom. It’s near bulletproof, but if it ever gets major damage, I can just unscrew it, flip it over and screw it back down, and be good for another 10 years.
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